Epinions Recent Reviews for Quintessence

Yum!

Fri, 28 Dec 2001 22:05:28 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - My husband and I visited Garibaldi on a rainy December night, our fourth anniversary. It was a good, cozy setting for a wet evening, with plenty of hearty fare on the menu that warmed us up from inside. However, the less-fancy place we visited for our...

It's a Wonderful Life It Ain't

Fri, 28 Dec 2001 21:42:44 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - OK, I didn't expect to be swept into Kleenex-land with my heart singing the way I am every time I view that fabulous classic "It's a Wonderful Life." But I was hoping for a more skillfully done movie than I got in "The Majestic."

The story is fine...

Where's the Beating Heart?

Fri, 28 Dec 2001 18:46:23 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - When main character Quoyle in this story is learning to be a reporter, his boss tells him to find the "beating heart" of a story. Ironically, it seems that the makers of this movie didn't head that advice.

This is the first time I've seen a movie...

Best of All, It's in Kenosha

Sun, 30 Jul 2000 02:14:40 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - My motivation for going to see this movie in the theater was that it was based in my hometown, that dear dump, Kenosha, Wisconsin. Unfortunately they didn't end up filming there, but I had a good laugh when Molly Ringwald, who was supposed to go to my...

Best of the Trilogy

Sun, 30 Jul 2000 01:23:15 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - The other two films in this trilogy, "Blue" and "White," left me cold and kind of perplexed. Partly the confusion was because I saw them in France without subtitles, sure, but also they just didn't hit home with me. Red is another...

very funny in any language

Sun, 30 Jul 2000 01:00:26 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - I had a blast watching this movie in the theater while studying abroad in France, because I've studied both Chinese and French, and I had to translate the subtitles for the Chinese parts from French to English for my companion. Somehow through my...

Sad, Sweet and Subtle

Sun, 16 Jul 2000 03:31:31 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - Waiting has a sweet, sad quality to it without being tragic, and it gives an interesting window into daily life in the more remote cities of China that I've never seen in the blood-and-inner-strength Gong Li Chinese films that get distributed...

E*TRADE: Worst Customer Service Outside China

Sat, 15 Jul 2000 21:24:30 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - I should thank E*Trade for saving my butt, because I attempted several times to invest in their e-commerce and Internet index funds without success in early April. Although I had had an e*trade account for months, i had never successfully logged into it...

Beautiful Red

Tue, 18 Jan 2000 02:44:12 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - Red Sorghum is one of the most visually delicious movies I have ever seen. If you ever have the chance to see it on the big screen, go for it. Like most Chinese movies, especially by this generation of film-makers, it's chock full of brutality and...

Train/Plane Trip Beijing-Xi'an-Chengdu-Tibet

Tue, 18 Jan 2000 02:16:11 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - A friend recently asked me for advice in traveling by train from Beijing to Xi'an, Xi'an to Chengdu, and Chengdu to Tibet. Here's what I told him:

Taking the train is the absolute best way to travel in China, I really love it. You see so much...

See the Takhi Horse Reintroduction Project

Mon, 10 Jan 2000 21:03:05 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - If you have the chance to visit the Khustain Nuru reserve, especially the takhi (Przewalski's Horse) reintroduction project, grab it. If you're not on a tour group that's stopping there, getting there can take some arranging; we paid $100 to hire a jeep...

Lama Island

Sun, 9 Jan 2000 23:58:19 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - I used to have to make periodic runs to Hong Kong while living in Beijing to renew my visa, and in pre-crisis times the lodging was the most expensive part of the trip, unless you wanted to stay at the disgusting Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong's famous...

mildly amusing day trip

Wed, 22 Dec 1999 04:43:52 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - If you only have a few days in Beijing, for God's sake don't waste time going to Tianjin. But if you're staying in the Beijing area for a long time, hopping on the train to Tianjin can be a nice day trip. There are even more outdoor clothing markets here...

Gotta Get the Credit Card

Wed, 27 Oct 1999 17:48:13 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - Man, since I signed up for the AAdvantage Master Card, I have amassed enough miles to get my first free ticket, even though I've hardly flown at all. It's easy -- my husband and I just charge every single thing we buy all month, and then pay off the...

How to Find Out What's Hip on the Beijing Scene

Sun, 24 Oct 1999 01:13:14 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - While in Beijing, make sure to pick up a copy of a weekly, English-language newspaper called Beijing Scene. This publication is kind of like Washington DC's The City Paper, San Francisco's Guardian or SF Weekly, or basically like any city's free weekly,...

Nomadic Journeys, the Best Travel Company in Mongolia

Fri, 15 Oct 1999 18:12:39 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - Mongolia does not have a tourist infrastructure. It doesn't even have a phone, water or road infrastructure to speak of, and that's one of the reasons to visit the place. But it means that it's one of the few places in the world where the most...

Genghis Khan's Capital

Thu, 14 Oct 1999 02:47:20 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - Actually, there's not much to see in Karakorum, the first capital of Genghis Khan's empire. Not nearly as much to do as there is in the second capital of the Mongol empire, Khanbalique (aka Beijing). Cities in Mongolia were never much more than...

Ulan Bizarre

Mon, 11 Oct 1999 19:07:00 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - No matter where you're going in Mongolia, you'll start in Ulan Baatar because it's the only place with an airport and one of the only cities with an international train line. It's where the hotels and travel companies are. And the...

Don't Buy the Carte Musee for Kids

Thu, 7 Oct 1999 14:36:47 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - I bought a three-day Carte Musee for about 200 Francs while in Paris for a week last fall. For that set price, you can visit the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay and countless other Paris museums, excluding special exhibits, and you go through a special, shorter...

Fun Escape From Culture

Mon, 4 Oct 1999 02:25:41 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - Get your mind into the gutter for a few hours and escape from the endless barrage of paintings, architecture and food that will make up the rest of your stay in Paris. This is a fun few hours, although you will see real sewage and it is kind of smelly --...

When She's Good, She's Very Good, But When She's Bad, She's Horrid

Sun, 3 Oct 1999 06:14:55 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - Like many works by this University of Wisconsin professor, Birds of America oscillates wildly from the funny, poetic and touching to the snobbish heights of boredom. "People Like That Are the Only People Here" is one of the best works of short...

Giggle at the Noseless Faces

Sun, 3 Oct 1999 06:02:53 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - Traipsing through the catacombs always reinforces my sense of being alive. Go with a group of friends; the more living souls you have with you, the easier it is to laugh in the face of the enormous piles of human remains that will surround you on all...

The Dells

Sun, 3 Oct 1999 05:32:24 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - You already know places like the Dells: kind of sleazy, kind of fun tourist strips. Often they're boardwalks, lined with shops hawking fudge and taffy, arcades, and more Ripleys Believe It or Not outlets than McDonald's. That's the Wisconsin Dells, but...

Don't Get Ripped Off on Great Wall Tours

Fri, 1 Oct 1999 23:17:46 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - Your hotel will want to take you on an air-conditioned bus trip to the Great Wall. Unless you are really short on time or are really fearful about being on your own in China, don't take the hotel tour. Like all tourist companies aimed at foreigners, they...

Archived Computer Hardware Reviews: PowerBook 5300: The Worst Computer Ever Sold

Fri, 1 Oct 1999 19:30:59 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author Quintessence - If anyone tries to sell you a used 5300 (the came out in 1995), run, and don't look back. My experience with this computer has been so lamentable that I will probably never buy an Apple product again. I'm currently using mine as an ottoman, since the...